Cataclysm
by OswinGaradex
Summary: After the breach Remnant has been blessed with a fragile state of calm. But the thing about fragile is that it's easy to break as dark forces line up to destroy what the Huntsman and Huntresses try to protect. In the oncoming cataclysm, even the most simple and innocent souls will have to face the harsh reality of what is to come. But first, they can dream. Post Volume 2
1. Chapter 1

Cataclysm

" _But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten; things that require a smaller, more honest soul."_

Ruby Rose was in heaven. Before her, stretching as far as the eye could see -and quite possibly even further- was cookies. Gooey chocolate chip, sticky peanut butter crunch, sugar cookies covered in sweet, delicious sprinkles and every other cookie flavor imaginable lay before her in one giant, beautiful cookie-scape.

Silver eyes became saucers as she took in the view. It was early sunrise with a gold glow bathing the perfect landscape, and not a soul in sight. Ruby Rose let out a loud and very unladylike laugh which was followed by a series of gasping, hiccupping snorts, ones that if Weiss had heard she would have been appalled.

No one was here! The whole cookie filled landscape was hers! Hers! _Suck it Yang!_ She thought her head dizzy with laughter and happiness. _I never have to share any of these cookies with you! Not a single one!_

Wiping away tears of joy, Ruby's petite hands reached down and firmly grasped a large chocolate chip cookie the size of a dinner plate and tugged upwards. It came away in her hands, and she held it up to her nose. The button nose that sat shyly in the middle of her face twitched in utter delight at the rich scent. The sweet smell of melty chocolate with a hint of cinnamon made her stomach growl. Basking in the utter bliss of the smell for a solid three seconds, until she couldn't take it any longer, the red caped girl took a huge bite.

As the sun began to rise and the golden glow began to get brighter, Ruby was practically rolling on the ground of baked goods with the delight of the flavors in her mouth. The faint scent of cinnamon she had detected before perfectly complimented the oozing chocolate chips that her pearly teeth were sinking into.

Her hands and face were covered in melted chocolate when the cookie at last reached its downfall, but the young huntress didn't care. She was in Heaven! _Though Heaven was getting awfully bright!_ She thought wincing as the golden glow of the sun got brighter and brighter with each passing second. Shielding her eyes with her arm and squinting, silver eyes traveled the nearby horizon where the twin titanium pools widened and became silver saucers of joy at what they saw.

Seeing is a wonderful, if not a rather complicated thing. The focused electromagnetic rays pass between the ring called the iris -which was a solid silver in this case- and into the pupils -dilated in exhilaration- which causes the light to enter. The iris contracts, sharpening, lengthening and adjusting the image and as the light hits the cones and rods of the eye. It all happens in a split second, and what those silver eyes saw in that second would stay burned into Ruby Rose's mind forever.

A huge, perfectly cooked golden brown chocolate chip cookie that was bursting with chocolate chips the size of a large man's fist was rising before her, giving off the golden glow. In the beautiful cookie-land, the sun was rising and all Ruby could do was drool. It shined rays of golden light and as the last bottom edge came into view Ruby could contain herself no more. She ran, crushing other cookies underfoot, but that was of no concern. The rising cookie was steadily growing bigger before her very eyes and it was warm and magnificent!

Suddenly, as she ran a loud baying sounded from behind her. Ruby Rose turned her head without breaking stride and was shocked to see a pack of Beowolves growing closer by the second! Hundreds of the foul Grimm were running towards her, shoulders hunched, the sun-cookies light glinting off their white armor and spines. The hoard was steadily drawing closer and closer, their low growls now easily heard in Ruby's petite ears.

Ruby ran faster and faster, desperate to put some distance between herself and the creatures of darkness. Her breathing began to grow shorter and more ragged, and her legs burnt with the effort of running over the soft cookie landscape. _Why!_ She wanted to cry out, but with her hitching breath she settled for screaming it in her thoughts. _Why can't anyone just let me eat cookies in peace!_

Sneaking another look behind her, her heart sank. The huge hoard of Beowolves was practically on her heels! Ruby's button nose could almost smell them. _No!_ Her resolve hardened. _I will not let them get that cookie!_

So Ruby ran. She ran fast as the wind, her semblance carrying her faster and further away from the Grimm and closer to the cookie than she could imagine. Ruby's semblance allows her to run so fast, all that the human eye can perceive is a red blur. When Ruby runs all that remains is a shower of red rose petals. The world seems to show down around her, and nothing gets in her way...unless of course she happens to be distracted.

Then Ruby Rose trips at full speed. Which is exactly what happened. Her fall sent her sprawling over a lone, rebellious cookie that seemed to have jumped up in front of her. It suck out if the ground at an angle just in a way that Ruby's boot hooked it. A somewhat squishy flooring of cookies caught her, and Ruby took no time in scrambling forward in a crawl. Her clothes were covered in melted chocolate, and huge cookie crumbs began to drag her down, but the young teenager scrambled on. Her cloak tangled around her legs, and further slowed her progress, but the thought if the Grimm behind her devouring the cookie spurred her on.

 _Rrrrrraaaaaaahhhhhhgggghhhhlllll!_ A war cry sounded in her head, and the red caped girl struggled to her feet one more and did something she had never done before. Ruby Rose unpinned the silver crosses on her shoulders, and her cape dropped to the ground. The red cape and hood would be lost and ruined n the hoards of Grimm but to Ruby it was a necessary sacrifice in the battle for the cookie. After a seconds grieving, the young team leader continued to run.

As she grew closer, the cookie grew bigger and warmer. It practically was radiating heat. Fresh out of the oven! Ruby leapt off all fours like a cat, unable to contain her craving anymore as the cookie took up her full field of vision. She was sailing through the air, arms wide as if to embrace the gigantic cookie. Her eyes closed with this leap of faith. So close! _Almost there!_

Ruby hit the floor with a loud thump! Pain blossomed in her hands, knees and stomach where she hit the hard floor and she let out a groan. _Cookies aren't supposed to hurt!_ She lamented to herself.

"Wake up you dolt, you're going to be late to class!" A voice said from above her head. Ruby groaned and blinked her eyes open. The golden light was still shining as the young huntress's eyes struggled to adjust to the light. She looked toward the voice and amidst the blinding light she saw a circular object. Her mind, still fuzzy from the dream, went into overdrive. The cookie! It was still there! She could still get it from the Grimm!

All pain seemed to vanish from her body as the cookie called out her name and began to talk again, taking in a body tone. All reasonable sense left her as she pushed herself upward and leapt at the yammering cookie and wrapped her arms around it in a sort of embrace. Without even thinking about how the cookie was sort of shaped more like a person than the round saucer, she pressed her mouth to the cookies face, meeting what felt like soft lips which pressed against her own. _Odd, that feels nice, though cookies shouldn't have lips..._

A pair of shocked ice-blue eyes stared back at her as she heard a loud gasping followed by a shriek of laughter that sounded a lot like Yang. _That's weird, cookies don't have eyes, especially not eyes that look like Weiss's..._

Ruby let go of Weiss like the Heiress was a sack of rotting potatoes. "Gah! Weiss!" She shrieked.

"I...Uh...I'msosorryWeiss!" She gasped out, her cheeks turning a shade of deep pink. Her head began to clear and where she had hit the floor began to throb as a burning red replaced the pink flush that had began to consume her cheeks.

The Heiress just looked shocked. She was standing there, her mouth hanging slightly open in an O shape. Usually one to be quick to regain her composure, Weiss Schnee seemed to be having trouble with it today. In fact, the Heiress seemed to be having trouble with breathing. Her normally snow white complexion was also rapidly turning a bright shade of pink.

Ruby's heart raced as her mind, fully cleared of sleep, dashed into overdrive once again. Every single apology and explanation in her arsenal burst out at once. All her thoughts poured out in one jumble. "I'm so sorry Weiss! I really didn't mean to, I was just thinking about cookies because I was having this dream about cookies and it was really great..."

"Ruby." The Heiress said softly trying to get the younger girls attention after she had regained some of her composure. Her snowy cheeks were fading back to white as the constant walls that she kept around her emotions began to snap tightly back into place. Sadly for her, a pebble had just been dropped down a mountain and an avalanche had started. Ruby had become a raving madwoman who was intent on delivering apologies until she was blue in the face -something which seemed to be coming up very soon- and didn't seem to hear a word that her partner had just uttered.

"...And then there was this huge cookie sun I was trying to catch and eat and I thought it was you because it looked so nice and warm and there was this light which was probably from the window note that I think of it and did I mention I was sorry? I really am sorry..." Ruby Rose continued to babble.

"Ruby!" Weiss stated louder this time. The girl before seemed to be about two seconds short of shouting her darkest hopes and desires to Weiss. _She must be stopped...wait did she just say I reminded her of a cookie because it was warm and sweet...awe that's so nice, no one thinks I'm sweet - CRAM IT SCHNEE! You are going to be late to class if you don't get Ruby to SNAP OUT OF IT! She thought to herself._

"...And then I kissed you which I'm really super sorry about! I didn't mean to and it wasn't a good thing, I don't mean that the kiss was bad, I just mean that it wasn't supposed to happen and I'm sorry please don'tbemadatme!" The younger girl finished and sucked in a huge lungful of air. She looked visibly tense. The Heiresses partner opened her mouth to start again and was stopped by a pale finger shoved up to her lips.

"Ruby!" Weiss gasped, exasperated. "I'm not mad!"

A small voice answered. "You're not?"

"No! Not at all! It was an accident you dunce!"

"Oh!" A small high pitched voice exclaimed. Then suddenly silver eyes lit up brightly. "We have a field trip today!" The young leader exclaimed, the entire shenanigans of the past few minutes seemingly forgotten in the energetic teens mind. The leader did a small victory dance but was unceremoniously cut off by Weiss.

"Ruby!" The shorter girl snapped and Ruby stopped, frozen, a baby dear caught in the headlights of an expensive car. The pale girl continued. "Ruby if you do not hurry up we're going to be late, and then I well be mad!"

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry Weiss!" Ruby looked at the floor and unconsciously her knees knocked together, and her shoulder slumped. Weiss sighed, her obvious efforts at getting the younger girl to hurry wasted.

"Oh yeah, you're real sorry!" The voice of Yang Xiao Long gasped in between more fits of silent giggles. The blonde was sitting on her bed pulling on her chunky combat boots. Her shoulders were shaking from not so silent laughter as she pulled on her boots.

Ruby let out a small growl and suddenly Yang was knocked back on her bed, Ruby's corgi pillow covering her face. The blonde brawler pulled it off her face and sat back up, sputtering, while Ruby disappeared in a shower of rose petals. A minute later the young team leader sat on her bed, tugging on her boots. The red corset around her middle wasn't tied properly and her skirt was rumpled. _Well at least she's up..._

While Ruby was lacing her boots, Weiss turned to face Yang, unconsciously lapsing into thought. The Blonde bombshell usually was last to be up, but today promises of combat and adventure had dragged her out of bed before even Weiss had been up. That made Weiss third up, not that she would ever tell Ruby. Blake had been gone before either of them had woken up.

Ruby jumped down from her bed finally, the ropes holding it in place creaking uneasily. She looked around the room and snatched her scroll off the table. "Hey, where's Blake?" She asked brightly, as if it was no big deal, but Weiss could hear her voice was edged with worry.

Yang exchanged a glance with Weiss. Weiss shook her head a fraction of an inch. With the events of the breach last week, they were all recovering. It had gone surprisingly easily for what it could've been, but Ruby had taken it exceptionally hard and had only just begun to lift out of her dim and gloom yesterday. Needless to say, team RWBY's young leader did not need the added scare of their friend running away again. Ever since the breach Blake had been scarce, but at least they had been able to see her the past mornings.

Weiss's mind had gone into overdrive thinking she had done something to make her want to leave again. Yang hadn't known where she had gone either, but the brawler had assured her that it wasn't her fault and that Blake was probably just being Blake. Weiss wasn't sure, but something about the way the brawler had seemed to know it wasn't her fault told her Yang was holding something back. Yang had helped with some of her fears, but that hadn't stopped Weiss from panicking inwardly all morning, the whole ordeal of waking Ruby just having being an added distraction. But Ruby always seemed to be a distraction.

Of course their teammate running away was another small demon that still ate away at her, even if it had been over a month ago. The Heiress apologized to the Faunas and had promised her later that night that she would make it up to her. Weiss had tried to in every way she knew how, and even though Blake herself had said it was okay, Weiss still couldn't forgive herself. She had said horrible things about the Faunas race, and every day when she woke up, it weighed on her that words like that had come from her mouth and every morning she promised she would try her hardest to change.

"She just uh...went on ahead to talk to professor Goodwitch about something!" Yang said cheerily. The blonde cracked an unenthusiastic half-smile.

"Oh!" Ruby said and looked thoughtful for several seconds. Weiss held her breath. The younger girl shrugged and bounced on the balls of her feet slightly, seeming satisfied with the answer. Her worried tinged voice was gone, replaced with her usual cheer. "Well we should get going too then!" She chirped cheerfully and without further ado bounded out the door.

"Will you stand still you dolt!" Weiss huffed at Ruby as she tried to straighten the girls skirt. The girl was fidgeting around like a netted trout. Ruby was bouncing along on her tip-toes and her silver eyes were scanning the hallway crowd everywhere for Blake. Weiss, having to walk twice as fast as normal to keep up, whereas Yang, with her long legs and extra inches on Weiss, was walking calmly along next to them with ease. The blonde had on a look of utter amusement as she watched Weiss fuss over Ruby. "Ruby!" Weiss exclaimed again.

"Sorry Weiss!" Ruby stopped fidgeting for all of three seconds and went right back to fluttering about like a sporadic butterfly. Weiss took advantage of the few seconds and was able to finally straighten her partners' skirt.

"Where is she?" The younger girls voice was once again laced with worry.

"I told you Ruby she's-." Yang started, but was cut off by a tap to the shoulder as a certain quiet, dark haired Faunas girl interrupted her. Yang did a double take and relief shone on her face, evidence of just how worried she had been. "Right here..." She deadpanned and then broke into a trademark grin.

"Blake!" Ruby's silver eyes widened and her face changed from one of worry to one of absolute relief in a split second. Weiss took in the Faunas girl, and the dark bags under the girls eyes didn't go unnoticed by the Heiress's keen appraising eyes. Nor did the way her hair was out of place or how her clothes were wrinkled and the straps around her arms messily tied, as if she had been putting them on in the dark.

Weiss let out a sigh she hadn't known was there. Blake was back, but had evidently been gone almost all night. They would need to talk about if later, but for now she gave Blake a formal nod, her strict upbringing holding her back from rushing forward and hugging the girl in relief. Yang on the other hand had not suffered through hours of cotillion and formal dinner parties and had no such worries about turning around and enveloping Blake in one of her bone crushing hugs, causing the Faunus's toes to clear the floor.

"Oh we were so worried!" She gushed out, slowly squeezing the life from Blake. Blake just hung limit from the Blondes arms, accepting her fate as her oxygen was squeezed from her body. It would be a small and peaceful ceremony, just the Faunus's closest friends. It hadn't been how she had been expecting to go, but it was still valiant none the less. Yang's oxygen cutting hugs had killed many over the years. She wasn't the first and she wouldn't be the last victim to the wrath of the Blondes ironic tenderness. People would understand.

"Worried?" Ruby asked looking confused.

"Worried?" Blake choked out an echo of Ruby's concern quietly as Yang put her down.

"We thought you had-." Yang started, but was cut off as Weiss slapped a pale hand over her mouth and stared pointedly at Blake. She let out muffled cries of protest but then stopped as Weiss made a small jerking motion with her head towards Ruby. Yang's eyes widened in understanding as she stopped mid garbled sentence. Sometimes the blonde couldn't keep a lie straight.

"We were only worried that you had some trouble with professor Goodwitch after you went to see her this morning. We weren't expecting to see you until we got to class!" Weiss stated cheerfully.

"Professor Goodwitch?" This time the confusion flickered across amber eyes. "But I didn't go see-." She too was cut off by Weiss's pale hand slapping across her mouth, cutting off all sound. Luckily for her, the realization dawned quickly and she stopped talking. Weiss let out a breath of relief as the two girls both relaxed and stopped trying to talk. Luckily for them, in her relief Ruby hadn't seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary.

Yet.

"Weiss, are you okay?" A concerned face met hers which quickly then changed to confused as Ruby Rose's brows bunched together and eyelids crinkled as if she wasn't sure what she was looking at. "Weiss, wha..." Was all she said as though words couldn't describe what she was feeling, or in this case seeing.

It was at that precise moment when Weiss realized that she still had both of her hands clamped firmly -and quite comically- over both Yang's and Blake's mouths.

"Oh." Was all she said, and blushing slightly she lowered her hands. An awkward sort of silence flittered between the four of them until Blake tentatively piped in while tapping on her wrist.

"Um guys, shouldn't we be getting to class?"

As the four girls began walking again, Yang tugged on Blakes arm and the two girls fell a little behind the rest of their team. Ahead of them, Weiss was once again fussing over Ruby and Ruby was doing her best to make it difficult for her. Yang watched amused, as her younger half sister jumped and skipped around as the heiress desperately tried to tie the younger girls corset.

"So Blake, where did you go this morning?" Yang asked in a hushed voice.

The Faunas did her best to avoid the blonde's eyes, something that Yang did not miss. "Out." Was all she said.

"Oh really?" Yang challenged, giving the girl beside her another chance to answer. Her tone was not light or playful, but the Faunas still gave her a one word answer, her modestly cheerful demeanor she'd had less than a minute ago having changed to sullen and thoughtful.

"Really."

"So you don't have anything you want to tell us about?" Yang added in a tight voice. Every day since the breach, Yang had been up late at night to train. Weiss always had to drag her ass out of bed each morning, but she always made sure she came back at a reasonable hour -and that she told her team what she was doing. Which was quite a bit more than what Blake had been doing and it was pissing the brawler off.

"No." The one word answer made Yang grind her teeth together and let out a loud groan of annoyance. Blake looked at her, and Yang's lavender eyes bore back into the dark haired girls amber ones. Amber looked away first and lavender narrowed in annoyance. It had only been a short conversation but Yang couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed Blake's arm in a vice like grip and stopped right in the middle of the crowded hallway. The blond's eyes turned red. Ruby and Weiss walked on ahead of them, seemingly oblivious to the other two girls.

"No? That's all you have to say to me?" She said in a tense, raised voice. Blake just looked down at the hallway floor. "Look at me!" She said through clenched teeth, and amber eyes met burning crimson. Amber widened in shock at the change of color and Blake held a surprised look.

"Yang? Are you alright?"

"Alright?" The blonde's asked incredulously, voice raising to almost a shout. "Alright? No Blake I am not alright! I am incredibly pissed off and tired of this shit!" A few people turned to look at the fighting pair in the hallway, but one glance at Yang's burning red eyes and they turned and went on their way. Most had learned the brawler was not one to mess with.

"What are you talking about?" This time it was Blake's turn to raise her voice, and a note of sass came into play with her normally calm attitude.

"I'm talking about you Blake! You made us a promise that you would come to us when something big came up! You made me a promise that you wouldn't tear yourself apart and that you would ask for help!"

"And I've kept that promise!" Blake shouted back. "I haven't-." The dark haired panther was cut off by and angry dragon. Heat began to radiate off of Yang as she yelled at the girl in front of her. The dragon knew it would hurt to say later, but she was hurt and angry at Blake and in her anger she didn't seem to care. Or maybe she cared too much. This is for your own good Blake.

"Have you Blake?" She shouted, clenching and unclenching her fists, oblivious to the crowd of people that had begun to form around them. Their own safety had been forgotten as the Blonde radiated heat and the promise of a brawl seemed so close. In her anger she seemed to tower over the other girl, and with clenched fists she brought her fury down in a torrent of words. "Where have you been going at night Blake? I've seen get up and leave! Don't think I didn't notice the bags under your eyes or how you've gotten thinner! What have you been doing? Why have you been lying to all of us?" She asked as Blake just stared at her with an expression close to shock and anger. Her mouth opened slightly to refute the brawler but Yang didn't let her get any words out.

"We've been worried Blake! When you weren't in bed this morning, I was sick with worry! Weiss woke up and was panicking that she had inadvertently done something to make you run away again and I spent half an hour convincing her that it wasn't her fault!" Yang stopped to draw in a breath and her tone softened slightly. "We had to lie to Ruby. Being leader puts a strain on her more than she would ever admit and if she thought we'd lost you again she'd be making herself sick with worry over finding you! We all would!" She added and looked at the face of the dark haired faunas. Conflicting emotions of anger and defiance flashed over her eyes while shock and confusion shone on her face. She didn't even try to talk anymore, instead just standing before the blonde, jaw set.

Yang, having unconsciously thrown Blake's arm from her hand's vicelike grip stood face to face with her partner. Her breathing came heavily and rushed and her eyes were still a glowing red. She felt once again the same height as Blake now that her firestorm of anger had mostly passed. The beginning feelings of regret brushed at her mind but she ignored them. Blake needed to hear this. "Think about your team Blake, we're getting real tired of this shit." She said evenly as she could and with a final search of her teammates face, the dragon turned heel and pushed her way through the slowly dispersing crowd.

Blake watched Yang leave, and just stood alone in the middle of the hallway. Her mind felt numb. Last time when she had been destroying herself to catch Roman, Yang had been understanding. When she had run away, Yang had been the most supportive out of her team and they had talked for hours after Ruby and Weiss had gone to bed. Less than five minutes ago Yang had given her a bone crushing hug and had smiled when she'd seen her. But now... Blake's thoughts rushed around her head like a tornado, the wind blocking out all other senses.

 _You fucked up Blake! Your partner hates you! Well done!_ Her thoughts pressed around her as she stood there with a look of dumbstruck shock.

"What was that about?"

"Some lovers spat I bet."

"Damn what'd that girl do then? If she's with that slut Yang it must've been something really bad."

She faintly heard the voices behind her, but she didn't have the heart to care. If Blake had been in another position she would've told them to fuck off and shut their mouths, but Blake was in no position to get in a fight. She just felt an overwhelming need to leave. Yang was right, she was hurting her team.

"Yeah, but I bet Xaio Long hasn't got the most brains with the rocking size of those tits of hers!"

"I wouldn't mind fighting with the the two of them. It'd be one hell of an argument!" A malicious snicker followed, along with a collective scattering of giggles.

Blake's head began to clear with each comment and the following laughter. Being a first year team with their amount of stature and skill had earned them a reputation, which meant the rumors flew like arrows and burned like wildfire. Even with their accomplishments, them and team JNPR were very hot topics in the gossip pool. She would have to ask team CFVY what they did to minimize the gossip about them.

As the strongest team in school, CFVY was only in their second year. They had accomplished more than most fourth year teams. Knowing them, they had probably scared all the other students into shutting up around them. As the laughter continued her cat ears twitched beneath her bow. With her enhanced feline hearing, the whispered and low spoken comments may as well have been being spoken right next to her ears.

"I bet they all have their own private spars all the time. I bet the blonde chick with the big ones likes to be loud! Wonder how many complaints their neighbors give them!" More piggish laughter.

"I almost feel bad for team JNPR, but I bet that's the most action they get!"

The last comments were the straws that broke the camels -or in this case, the felines- back. Blake turned around in a haze and zoned in on the offender with Amber eyes and enhanced hearing. Her fingers clenched by her sides. Calmly her low heels clicked on the floor as she walked towards the guy spewing the lewd offenses. A small crowd had formed around the offender, and she as shoved her way through they all fell silent aside from the main bully.

Her hand reached up to tap him on the shoulder. The face of Cardin Winchester looked down at her with a sneer which quickly changed to surprise and then to terror as the Faunas girl shoved him backwards and up against the wall. He let out a grunt and his back cracked slightly. She held him by his collar, bunching the material in her first. Blake let out a hiss of anger and narrowed her eyes. His cocky demeanor fully faded under her dangerous stare as she pushed him up against the wall. Blake wished she could wrap her fingers around his neck and squeeze the air out of his miserable body. In the White Fang she had learned of ways to make sure someone wouldn't ever talk again. She was half tempted to crush his vocal chords and use Gambol Shroud to cut out his tongue. Or she could take a page from Nora's book and break his legs. Lucky for him she was trying to become a better person.

"If you want to say something Cardin, say it to my face!" She hissed out, her voice low and dangerous. He stared at her wide eyed, his circle of fans now jeering at him instead of the cracks on her team. She shook him by the collar of his shirt. "Anything?"

He shook his head vigorously from side to side. "Coward!" She hissed and taking a page from Yang's book brought her knee up straight up into his balls. The sorry excuse for a human being crumpled to the ground clutching his groin. He let out a pathetic wine like a beaten puppy.

Blake crouched down next to him. "That 'blonde chick with the big ones' happens to be my best friend. She is smart, strong and way out of you're league. That his for the rest of my team. If you ever speak like that about her or any of them ever again I will personally make sure you will pay for your words in double. Got it?" Cardin nodded frantically. "Good."

Yang finally caught up to Ruby and Weiss in the courtyard where Professor Goodwitch was briefing them on what to expect. Beacon Academy's headmaster, Professor Ozpin was standing next to her, a distracted look in his eyes and his ever present cup of coffee and cane clutched in his hands. The two girls were standing next to team JNPR, and all six of them seemingly quivering in tense excitement.

Yang strained to hear Glynda as she spoke, the normally even spoken woman's voice shifting on the breeze. "...test your survival abilities, you will be released and expected to survive in the Emerald forest for three days." The Good Witch stopped talking as the headmaster continued, his calm voice smoothly flowing over the crowd.

"You are to work with your team to survive, and will be using your landing strategies to enter the forest. You will not be given any equipment to aid in your survival and you will only be allowed to bring your weapons and materials at hand into the forest." There was a small chorus of complaints.

"Hey you never told us about any of this, how were we supposed to know what to bring!" Someone voiced up from the small crowd.

"You weren't." Ozpin stated simply and Glynda continued after he didn't make any further motion to talk.

"You will be monitored at all times to evaluate your performance. If at any time you wish to pull out, simply send up a signal to let us know if your distress, but do not think that you will be pulled out unless we believe it to be a dire situation. Any who do not have their weapons now, it would be wise to summon then with your locker code. Once you are in the forest, you will not be allowed." The professor paused, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of hey nose. Yang listened on and off as she went over the general overview of how they would be using their landing strategies to land in the forest, what to expect and how they would be graded.

Yang stretched her muscles and blinked in the bright sun as she contemplated her landing strategy, but the blonde couldn't concentrate. Her mind kept wandering back to Blake. Yang couldn't help but wonder if she had been to harsh on her. _After all, Blake only wanted to help_ , her guilt said. _But she's tearing herself apart by doing so._

 _But you never gave her a chance to defend herself_ , said Yangs guilt. _But she hurts the team by hurting herself'_ Said her anger.

The argument was ringing through Yang's head. It cut off the outside world and the brawler barely noticed the faunas creep up beside her. She felt guilty and angry at the same time. Her guilt was angry at her for snapping at the faunas and her anger was arguing with it for defending the faunas when Blake had clearly been wrong. Her guilt told her to reach out and apologize to her partner and say how wrong she was. Her anger wanted her to step aside and let the Dark haired girl come to her, sniveling and apologizing and worshiping Yang for finding and fixing her mistake. Yang herself wanted neither.

The argument in her head almost drowned out everything around her until she couldn't think. Yang's breath became fast and shallow. Her fists clenched and unclenched at her sides, and her eyes twitched as she tried to keep them from going red. She could feel the heat begin to rise off her body until she couldn't take it anymore. She didn't like when people told her what to do and unpredictable as they may be, she was going to be the boss of her emotions.

 _Shut up!_ She screamed to the warring emotions in her head. _Shut up, shut up, shut up!_ And the emotions in her head went silent. _Nailed it!_


	2. Survival in the Emerald Forest

_"Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."_

 ****Like on her first day at Beacon Academy, Ruby hit the ground of the Emerald forest running. Her boots pounded on the layer of grass and leaves, caution thrown to the wind as she picked up speed. Her semblance made her a red blur to any watchful eyes. All the teen could hear as she ran was the sound of her feet pounding on the ground.

The forest itself passed in a blur of greens, reds, and browns as she breezed past the silent trees and underbrush. Her aura prickled slightly as she continued her sprint and the red caped girl had the slightest of feelings that something was wrong. It was almost as though someone, or something was watching her...

Shaking it off as nerves Ruby continued her sprint through the wooded land, contemplating on what she should do next. Being team leader she was most responsible for finding the rest of her team mates and getting them back together.

Ruby screeched to a halt, landing in a small clearing of the forest _. I had better call them_. She thought and reached for her scroll. _Though, it's so quiet in here that I could just call out and they would hear me!_ She thought with a giggle which immediately sobered. _Wait, maybe it's...too quiet..._

Crescent Rose was unhooked from her back and spun open in a flash as Ruby Rose began to notice the glowing eyes peering out at her from the brush and trees. It must have been several dozen pairs of red eyes. The young huntress was surrounded by Grimm.

Silver eyes narrowed as slender hands deftly drew back the bolt of her trademark sniper scythe. It let out a loud Ka-Chink and the woods fell back into a deathly silence as the young Huntress sought out her prey. _Silence is key!_ Ruby though to herself as she stood at the ready, waiting for the Grimm to make the first move. _Any sound can alert them..._

The loud ringing of the red caped girl's scroll receiving a call cut through the silence like a heated knife goes through butter. Ruby's eye did a slight twitch as a low growl sounded from the forest as the small piece of technology rang again and again from her pocket. Letting out a small growl of her own the huntress in training relinquished a hand from the handle of Crescent Rose and fished the ringing object out of her pocket. Not even checking who it was, Ruby answered keeping her eyes on the forest around her as more low growls sounded as she answered the call.

"Hello?" She ventured tensely, more frustration leaking into her voice than intended.

"Ruby!" Came the relieved reply of Weiss. "Where are you?" The Heiress's bossy tone of voice made the question seem more like a command than a question. Normally Ruby didn't mind Weiss's bossy tone, but there was a time and a place and now was neither.

"In some clearing of the forest, now is not really a good time Weiss!" Ruby answered hurriedly as a Beowolf began to emerge from the surrounding trees, red eyes dead set on the silver eyed girl. It gnashed its sharp white teeth together and ran a lolling pink tongue over them.

"I don't think there will be a better one on the horizon!" Came Weiss's annoyed reply. "Come on Ruby, we need to find Yang and Blake and meet up as a team!"

Ruby's stomach did a somersault as more Grimm began to emerge from the trees. "Weiss, now **really** isn't a good time!" She said and as a Grimm ran at her, she lowered the scroll from her ear and pushed the end button, cutting off the demanding shrieks of her partner. Sometimes, Weiss could be utterly infuriating. _But I wouldn't have it any other way._ Ruby found herself thinking as she hefted Crescent Rose into position, combination Sniper-Scythe held at the ready position.

The first Grimm attacked and Ruby Rose was ready. As dirty white claws slashed at her neck, the silver blade of Crescent Rose met them with the clanging of metal on bone. The Beowolf's large paw was knocked off course in time for another beast to step in and swipe at the red caped girl.

Scythe swept up to parry the blow, slicing through black fur, muscle and bone. Ruby Rose angled her weapon and spun on the balls of her feet so her stroke continued from removing the arm of the Grimm to slicing through its middle. The two halves of Beowolf immediately beginning to disintegrate into pieces before gravity caused them to come crashing to the ground.

Ruby Rose fell into her familiar form that she had used many times before when fighting on her own. It could be said that her style of fighting was rather unique. Whereas Yang was more of a rough and tumble type and Weiss was more of a straight backed by the books fighter and Blake had her own ballet like grace, Ruby's was more situational. It was hard to be graceful with a weapon that was frankly bigger than she herself was, yet when the situation called for it Ruby prided herself on not tripping over her own feet. Having a weapon this big and scary also meant it was dangerous and difficult to learn so there was no rule books for it unlike Weiss's raptor. Ruby was also not good in close combat situations that called for Yang's particular style of fighting. What Ruby was good at was speed and momentum and that wasn't always something that was graceful or pretty. The young team leader was good at cutting through lots of Grimm in record speeds and that while being efficient, wasn't the thing that would make the ballet. To her, the fight against Grimm was just one big pattern. A linear pattern of running, horizontal slashing, and empty rectangular cartridges.

She still remembered what her uncle Qrow had told her on the first day of her training, and she kept remembering it every day since. _The power of the Scythe, while not exactly graceful isn't the bulky hacksaw that everyone thinks it is. Don't expect your fighting to be graceful when you first start out kid, because I'm going to tell you right off it sure as shit isn't. You're going to start out messily, but don't let yourself become discouraged. With the power of the scythe under your control you'll be able to cut down your enemies swiftly, deftly and with little hassle. But don't expect for it to be easy to learn. There have been three known scythe wielders in the whole history of Remnant, me being the last. Ready to go down in history kiddo?_

In the passing minutes for Ruby Rose as she fell into the monotone bliss of the fight, scythe met bone and sinew. Bullets embedded into flesh. Fur flew every which way as the fluid hacking of Crescent Rose brought down more and more Grimm. Time slowed as all that could be seen of Ruby was a red blur and of Crescent Rose, a flicker of silver amongst the sea of black fur and flashing white teeth.

Rose petals coated the forest floor in a matte layer of reddish pink. The petals mixed in with the blood of the Grimm that seeped around the forest floor and then steadily seemed to disappear. The young huntress in training slashed and hacked every which way she could. Grimm after Grimm fell to the ground in pieces until at last, there were none left. The clearing around her was silent once more, but not with the presences of Grimm, but with the lack there of.

Letting out a small exhale of relief at seeing she was once again alone, Ruby switched Crescent Rose back to the weapons flat, blocky form and clipped it back on her belt. _Well that was weird._ She thought to herself. _There's usually not this much Grimm here. I'd better call Weiss back and see if she's okay._

Weiss looked around at the foliage around her. Everything about the forest was either a shade of green or some sort of complementing reddish orange or brown. The only thing that wasn't one of the two shades was the river that ran to her left. The crystalline body of water ran quickly over its creation of smooth rocks and pebbles, the rounded rocks a product of years of water smoothly flowing over them. Occasionally there was a flash of silver or flicker of color as what was presumably a small fish darted past. The whole effect was lovely, if not rather calming. The only problem was a small feeling of unease Weiss felt at the sight. Even though the view was rather lovely, something seemed to be awry. It was the tiniest chemical imbalance in the formula. It still worked but it wasn't exactly correct and Weiss couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Taking in a breath, Weiss began to walk briskly. _Alright Schnee, you need to figure out a plan of attack. You're going to be here for three days, what are your first priorities?_ Without thinking, her hand flew to the small pack that was located at the small of her back. Inside was all the dust she kept on her at all times, but today it was surprisingly light. _Alright, more dust._ She thought, making a mental checklist. Of course today would be the day she forgot to refill her supplies after a day of sparring.

Continuing her walk along the riverbank, Weiss pulled out her scroll. _Teammates._ She thought to herself. Ruby probably hadn't even thought of trying to locate the rest of her teammates yet, not with the high from landing. Ruby had a little bit -if not maybe quite too much- of a taste for danger. Thinking of her partner and team leader brought a smile to the Heiress's face. _I should call her first, I mean she is my partner._ Weiss though to herself, having to justify the last part to herself. Something about speaking to the younger girl gave her the tiniest rush of happiness.

Stopping in a clearing by the river and pulling out her white scroll, her slender finger pressed the button, extending it to its handheld size. Flicking through her contacts, she located Ruby's number yet she found her finger hesitating over the call button. She felt...nervous. Why did she feel nervous?

 _Don't be silly Weiss, it's just a phone call...and not even an important one!_ She shook her head and blinked her eyes rapidly, and ignoring her nerves, pressed on the call button. The phone rang once. Twice. Three times. _What if I say the wrong thing?_ She found herself thinking unexpectedly. It was a very out of character thought for her. She wasn't one to trip over words, yet around Ruby she was always spitting out the wrong words and phrases. The effect the younger team leader had on her was like some sort of mind spinning drug.

"Hello?" Came the frustrated sounding reply as Ruby answered. The answer brought Weiss out of her drowning thoughts like a life line.

"Ruby!" Weiss replied, feeling oddly relieved to hear her voice. "Where are you?" The Heiress questioned in the bossy and demanding tone that she always seemed to slip into when in a tactical situation.

"In some clearing of the forest, now is not really a good time Weiss!" Came Ruby's hurried answer. There was a clanking sound of what seemed suspiciously like that of Crescent Rose being drawn to the ready.

"I don't think there will be a better one on the horizon!" Weiss's replyed, slightly annoyed that Ruby wasn't giving her enough attention to properly execute what she was try to get across. "Come on Ruby, we need to find Yang and Blake and meet up as a team!"

"Weiss, now **really** isn't a good time!" Ruby's voice came across as desperate and annoyed. Weiss was started to retort about just how important this was when she heard what sounded like a low growl and the click of the receiver as Ruby hung up.

Weiss stood in stunned silence for several seconds, scroll still clutched between pale fingertips. Ruby, her teammate and partner had just hung up on her. Worry flashed through her mind and started to gnaw at her stomach ever so slightly. _What did I do wrong?_ She found herself thinking, but with a slight shake of her head and a small toss of her white pony-tail she collected her thoughts and started walking again. _No matter, I'll just call Blake or Yang._ She stopped once again and took a short calming breath, bringing her scroll back up to her frame of view. The Heiress's feeling of worry only grew as neither Blake nor Yang answered the calls she sent to their scrolls.

Weiss could feel something was truly very wrong now. Her fingers instinctively brushed the handle of Myrenaster as she pocketed her scroll. A slender hand reached behind the small of her back and pulled out a small canister of pale blue dust. Quickly sliding it into its slot in Myrenaster's handle she straightened her posture as for the umpteenth time resumed her pace along the side of the river. The small dust carrier felt even light with what seemed to be her last canister of blue dust at the ready in Myrenaster. _Right, teammate's aside, if you are going to survive Schnee you're going to need more dust._

The thought weighed on her mind. Weiss's weapon would be greatly handicapped by a lack of dust if one should come. It wasn't that she wasn't a skilled fighter without dust, but it did aid in her combat greatly. Years of practice had allowed her to infuse the substance into her glyphs, allowing for a greater range of actions she could choose from in battle. The dust also allowed her to charge Myrenaster with a certain type of charge for a short amount of time. Some dust types of charges lasted longer than others but most only allowed for a few hits. Luckily, Weiss made it a point to make every one of those hits count.

But, while Weiss knew she needed dust to enhance her fighting skills, the Heiress was not quite sure how to go about the task of getting more. It wasn't like she could just dig into the ground and mine until she happened to stumble upon a small vein of the volatile crystals. She paused with the train of thought. _Although-_ Her musings were cut off by the vibration of her scroll in her pocket. The Heiress jumped slightly at the sensation and pulled the small piece of technology out of her pocket like it was on fire.

"Hello?" She asked cautiously after tapping the answer button.

"Weiss?" Came the response of a high pitched voice that could have only belonged to Ruby Rose. The knot of unease that had been tightening in the Heiress's stomach slowly eased slightly upon hearing the familiar voice. Weiss had to fight the urge to scream and cry to Ruby about just how worried she had been. Instead what came out was one of her normal, condescending remarks.

"Yes Ruby who else would it be?" She said icily, hoping the light way she had meant to say it would shine through the words.

Whether did or didn't, it didn't seem to matter when Ruby answered. The younger girl hadn't even seemed to have heard the snide remark. Weiss listened as Ruby began to pour out her worries and fears and escalades she had just gone through with impunity. The Heiress had to admit that hearing how worried her teammate was about her after being attacked with so many Grimm made her heart swell the tiniest bit.

"-and there was so many, have you run across any Weiss?" Ruby paused her rant, jolting Weiss back to reality.

"No, I have not." Weiss thought a minute. "That does explain why the forest is so quiet."

"Yeah, until I was attacked there wasn't a sound from anything!" Ruby said and continued back on some half-ranted babble. Weiss found herself lulled into a still kind of thought at the tones of the partner's voice. Her gaze wandered to the river, the slight splashing of waves mixing with Ruby's chatter as she continued her meander down the river.

The glimpses of silver in the river drew her eyes to them. There was something strangely familiar about them. Weiss wandered closer to where her boots were almost touching the clear water. Pale blue eyes squinted and then widened as realization dawned on the Heiress. The flashes of silver were not fish after all -they were far to small- no, they were more crystalline and round in shape. The corners of her pink lips twitched up slightly in a smile as a glint of gold and then of blue caught her eye at her close scrutiny. No, the fish were definitely not fish at all. _They're dust crystals! But where are they coming from? Perhaps...no they closed years ago...maybe..._

"Weiss are you even listening to me?" Ruby's question snapped the Heiress's attention from the dust crystals in the river.

"Yes of course I'm listening!" Weiss snapped back at the younger girl, annoyed at having been interrupted.

Ruby was silent on the other end for a minute. For Weiss it was a sudden and unorthodox heart pounding moment of wondering if she had hurt the girl's feelings. Her heart slowed it's frantic pumping when Ruby finally responded.

"Where are you even at anyways? We should meet up! I haven't been able to get in touch with Blake or Yang!" Ruby said cheerily. Weiss could hear her cheer was laced slightly with worry over her missing teammates.

Weiss looked around. "I'm by the river. I'll send you a picture with my scroll so you can find me." The Heiress pulled the Scroll away from her ear and snapped a quick picture of the forest around her. She turned slightly to get another part of the woods when suddenly her aura sent prickled at the base of her neck. Her finger paused over the camera button as a sudden rustling in the undergrowth's leaves in front of her sent another wave of prickling through her aura.

Described as a sixth sense, the feeling of being watched by something you cannot see is a very common gift of having an unlocked aura. It manifests itself in a feeling some have described as death walking over their graves or like a shard of ice being lightly drawn done their spines. The feeling, while unpleasant, draws to the attention of the individual that they're in danger. It gives them needed seconds to either flee the sight and hope for the best or to prepare for combat. Weiss was not one to flee.

Slowly sheathing her scroll, the Heiress's hand grasped the handle of Myrenaster and drew the raptor slowly out of the loop on her belt. The other hand rested a few inches at her side at the ready in the off chance she would need to produce a glyph t the start of combat. A wedged boot stepped forward one small step to improve balance. The leaves of the undergrowth rustled again. Ice-blue eyes narrowed in concentration and Weiss's chest rose and fell calmly. She was ready for whatever was about to throw itself her way.

The Grimm attacked her with a feral growl. Hulking and large, the Ursa leapt from the dense underbrush. Leaves both green and brown scattered every which way showering the grass and the small Heiress. What was probably a thousand pounds of black fur and a beastly rage attacked Weiss.

Thick arms tipped with white claws and plated with red and black armor swung at Weiss. The first swipe of the Grimm was caught with a pale blue glyph and Weiss spun and rolled out of the way of the second. Hand springing backwards into the shallows of the river and out of the way of another blow as the Ursa broke through the fragile glyph only to rake an immense claw through the layer of grass where she had been standing a second ago.

Landing on her feet in a crouch, Weiss channeled her aura into creating three glyphs behind her on the surface of the water where quickly she stepped onto the furthest one back. As the Ursa ran at her again, head lowered to run at her like a crazed juggernaut, Weiss held up two fingers of her left hand and the two glyphs that she wasn't standing on spun. Her right hand still held into Myrenaster where her index finger deftly flicked dust chamber into a spin. The runes carved into the blade of the sword glowed blue as the dust activated in the hilt of the weapon.

Narrowing her eyes, Weiss made them spin faster and faster and only when the Ursa was almost upon her did she let them go. The glyphs were spinning fast enough that the snowflake that could normally be seen with them could only be registered as an unseen blur. They weren't the only thing that was spinning either. The water underneath the two glyphs was spinning as well. As the Grimm reached the side of the river, the glyphs paused for a fraction of a second. Then for that particular Ursa, all Hell broke loose as long and sharp shards of ice averaging six inches to a foot long shot up at the Grimm.

The pieces of ice slashed through the air like a hundred deadly knives. Weiss's concentration didn't waver as she bombarded the unfortunate creature of darkness with ice. She watched in satisfaction as the ice pelted the Grimm's hide, splitting black fur and piercing through tough skin. The flying ice obscured her vision partly, but even with the limited vision she could see the Grimm was on the verge of death.

Blood ran down and congealed as the ice tore through the Grimm. It howled in pain, swiping at the ice flying directly at it. Its paws flailed and writhed as a large shard embedded itself in the tender center it's paw. Weiss would've almost felt bad for the beast had it not been trying to kill her and prey on humanity.

Time seemed to lapse forward as her glyphs slowed and the flying knives of ice slowed their pelting of the Ursa. The wounded beast roared pitifully at Weiss in attempt to reinstall its dominance in the battle when her Ice finally stopped bombarding it. Without the frozen water obscuring her vision, Weiss could see the ice had hit home.

Pieces of red stained shards stuck out of the Grimm's hide like some sort of gruesome abstract art piece. A longer shard was sticking out of the join of it's shoulder, causing the Ursa's arm to be rendered useless and limp at its side. The Ursa was staggering slightly and swaying back and forth in an unhealthy way. Blood was congealing around the punctures and some of the Grimm's fur was starting to flake away slowly into nothing. It was dying.

Weiss held up Myrenaster and pointed it at the staggering beast's chest, positioned just right so it would pierce between the white and red plates of armor. With a dark satisfaction she ran forward through the shallows of the water, splashing water all over her heeled boots. The rush of adrenaline she felt at the thought of smiting her enemy was intoxicating and the call to end it all in one fell swipe of the sword was overpowering.

Weiss knew it was unhealthy to give into such desires but it's hard to ignore what's been bred into you. Her whole life, Weiss had been taught that she was a Schnee and that Schnees were at the top. There was no other option but to dominate, and to dominate in everything you do. No matter how small a task or how insignificant the enemy seemed, you crushed them and made it so they could not fight back. Any argument you made was solid and had no holes, and any battle you fought you won. As a Schnee you either won or you were not deserving of the name. Weiss had always been proud of her name, and she never had given her father any reason to take it away.

He taught her to work the system in the extreme so she would always be able to get what she wanted. To never take no for an answer and to never let anyone get the better of you. Trust no one but let others trust you. Never lose and always revel in the victory over your enemy. Leave your mark and make sure they know that you and only you will ever be the victor.

Years of being told this had left its mark on the Heiress, and she simply couldn't stop the feelings of exuberance and the excess feelings of adrenaline from pumping through her veins. It made her light headed and giddy. It made her smile. It sickened the Heiress when her lips curled up ever so slightly and the muscles in the corners of her lips twitched upwards, but she couldn't seem to help herself. The greatest thing to feel was watching the light fade out of your enemy's eyes. It was the most addictive drug in the world.

It wouldn't normally have been a problem for her, but with the advanced combat training that Beacon Academy provided, it was hard to ignore. The corners of her lips seemed to upturn as the more bloody the battles became. The more she fought and the more she won, the harder it became to turn off. It became more and more difficult to ignore the giddy feeling of utter power and life that swirled around her veins.

True, when others were around she could contain the feral smile that seemed to seep into her jaws at the moment of victory, but one day she would slip up and show her true colors. The true colors of a Schnee. Soaked red with blood, she would be grinning like an animal as her enemies lay torn to pieces around her.

The tip of Myrenaster met the leathery skin of the Ursa's chest, silver metal sliding almost effortlessly through the layers of muscle and hide. There was a muffled cracking and a roar of pain as the blade of her raptor jabbed through the breast bone of the beast with the strength of ten. Weiss was skilled with the sword and she never missed her mark. The Grimm howled and screeched as she pulled Myrenaster back out. She could hear her own blood rushing and pumping against her eardrums as the hulking creature of darkness at last fell over dead.

Large pieces of black degraded flesh flaked away in the light breeze. Weiss held her blade beside her as she quickly caught her breath. Her heart pumped as the high of the kill faded away into the gentle throb of adrenaline. The twisted smile slowly faded from her face as the beastly thrill of the victory slid away. Weiss was once again left alone in the Emerald forest.

Weiss crouched by the riverside and looked from the sparkling water to her scroll. The map on her scroll said she was very close to the right place, and the water certainly showed it. The sunlight bounced off the top of the smoothly flowing water accentuating the small glittering flashes of dust crystals that twinkled at the Heiress from between the stones in the riverbed.

Some of them were no bigger than a fleck of gravel but some of the dust crystals were as big as her fingertips. Brilliant shades of blue, silver, and aqua shown most prominently at her. She glimpsed a few flashes of orange and gold but with the location of the river the coloring made sense.

Dust is highly temperamental when it comes to the elements. The more exposed to something the crystals are, the more they take on the stronger properties or that element. A granule of orange dust no bigger than a penny could explode and destroy a twenty story building if it were exposed to heat and fire for long enough. The dust in the river was all mostly blue due to the proximity of the water and the continued exposure to it. Once exposed to one element, dust kept the properties of that element, even if exposed to other any elements. That explained the orange and gold dust flecks that caught Weiss's eye in the river. The pure, unexposed dust had probably been hit with extreme heat from a fire in the mine or heated slag that was produced by some of the older mining equipment.

Thanks to the Schnee family's willingness to work well within the moral grey area, six years ago plans for a new dust mine had been proposed. A good-sized vein of dust had been thought to be located under the river Weiss was currently located at. Weiss's father had proposed the plans and budget for beginning the mining operation, but The City of Vale had supposedly shut it down before the Schnee Dust Company could even start monetary evaluations for the mining.

Someone high up had said that it was too unreasonable and too detrimental to the forest to let a full blown mining operation be executed somewhere that they were not positive it would reap a profitable amount of dust. The Emerald Forest was a protected area and with the high population of Grimm and a huge amount of undiscovered flora and fauna, they had said it would not happen. In the rejection letter it was stated that mining in an area with so many Grimm ready to unleash chaos on a mine full of highly volatile ore would be too dangerous to the miners and highly unethical and impractical.

Weiss's father had been livid at the rejection and had fought any opposition tooth and nail to get the mine up and running. Two months and several select paychecks later the city had granted the S.D.C the rights for the mine which allowed them to begin the operation. It had all been very hush hush and almost no one who wasn't part of the Schnee Corporations outside of the room of those who had been paid off knew of its existence.

Weiss had only heard rumor of it of course, but with her family any rumor could be considered truth. It wasn't until two years ago that Weiss had really known it had really existed after she had gone with her Father on some family business. He had taken her to the Schnee Company's branch in Vale by airship. Multiple important looking business people in tailored suits had met in a stark conference room to discuss plans for the mines. Weiss had been listening in on the meeting as they discussed what to do with the mine. It had been one of the cheapest mines up and running in the S.D.C's history. They had decided to shut it down by the end, the conditions of mine having turned out to have killed several of its workers.

Just this past year, after Blake's accusations of her family's morally battered deeds, Weiss had done her own research and found that all the workers had been homeless and underpaid Faunas. With no one to miss them and with the only choice but to take what pay they could or starve, the Faunas workers had been the reason why the expenses had been so low. The equipment, Weiss had found, had been less than up to date and the conditions had been nothing short of dangerous. While mining for dust was a dangerous job, casualties like what had happened at the mine shouldn't have been as high as they were. The new knowledge had sickened her and after reading it, made her want to vomit when she realized that less than a year ago, she would have found such a deplorable act to be acceptable. It was a darker part of her past, and much like her hidden bloodlust, one she hoped she would be able to leave behind.

Squaring her shoulders and shaking off her thoughts, Weiss reached into the cool water and pulled out a larger crystal of cyan dust that was caught between two smooth pebbles. Plucking her prize carefully out of its cradle in the riverbed, ice-blue eyes narrowed to inspect it. The blue granule was about the size of a rubber eraser on the tip of a pencil. The sunlight that caught on its faceted sides made it shine like a tiny blue diamond. It was actually quite pretty. Weiss wasted no time in admiring the beauty of the crystal and pulling an empty vial out of the small pack at the small of her back, placed it in the empty vial.

Reaching back into the water she pulled out several more small crystals until her vial was about two thirds of the way full. If put in the sun, many people would describe that little vial as a tiny jar of blue stars glistening in the light. Weiss saw that tiny jar as a tool. Something to power her weapon so she could protect those who could not protect themselves. To the Heiress, the dust in that little jar was mismatched and volatile, the uncut crystals more dangerous than the fine powder she normally carried. Both were just as potent, but the fine symmetrical granules of dust were easier to aim and produced a smoother reaction. Uncut crystals like this were tricky and tended to be explosive. You had to point them and hope they went in the direction you wanted. It lacked finesse, but if it was all she had for the next three days, Weiss would make due.

When Blake had landed, she had gotten the feeling that something was wrong. The forest was way to quite. After she had begun walking and had encountered the mangled remains of a rabbit, she was almost positive that something was askew. When she stopped to take note of her surrounding and had almost immediately been attacked by a flock of small Nevermores ranging up to a body size of four and a half feet, then the Faunas knew something was defiantly not right. When she had been to the emerald forest on her first day at Beacon Academy, it had been vibrant, lively, and loud to her cat-like hearing. Now, it had been silent and dead sounding. The only sound she had heard was the rustling of the trees and the beating wings of the Grimm that had flown out of the trees and attacked her.

Blake had fought off all of the small Nevermores that she could, the birdlike bodies and black feathers piling around her on the forest floor, until she had found an opening in the massive hoard. Throwing Gambol shroud like a grappling hook, she hooked a low hanging limb of a tree and propelled herself forward and away from the teeming mass with three shots behind her. It had not been the ideal situation, nor had it been the most noble of options to pursue, but the assignment was to survive for three days. Blake did not intend to fail by becoming wounded within the first forty-five minutes. So she did what she did best and ran. It wasn't brave and she didn't feel great about it. Had there been someone with her in the flurry of Grimm, she would have just left them for dead.

 _No one was there though._ She thought to herself. _No one died._ The thought didn't make her feel any better. After Yang had shouted at her in the hallway not even an hour ago Blake's mood had been falling down into a downward spiral of self-loathing and depression. She wasn't even sure why Yang's comments had hit her so hard, but they had and it was like someone had taken her heart and squeezed it into a pulp in their fist.

True people had yelled insults and torment at her. In the White Fang, there was enough infighting to produce bad blood between members. Blake had taken her fair share of beatings both verbal and physical, but never had they ever hurt her like this one had. Yang may as well have just walked up to Blake and ripped out her heart, because it felt like she had a hole in her chest.

Sighing, Blake leaned against the trunk of the large evergreen tree whose branches she was currently residing in. The rough bark dug into her back but she barely noticed it. It was nothing compared to what her heart and head were telling her was wrong. She tipped her head back and the top touched the bark of the Evergreen. _You're a failure Blake. You can't do anything right._

Blake let her thoughts swirl around her, each one a tiny pinprick of poison against her immunity. Sighing once more, she gathered her thoughts and shoved them into the back of her mind. Picking herself up from the branch of the tree, she stood up and went on her way. _I should find my team._ She though out of nowhere. It was the one thing she felt she could do right.

Boots lightly touching down on bark as she ran and jumped from branch to branch of the tall trees in the forest was a blissful release from her infectious thoughts. The wind made the boughs of the trees sway and crack as the Faunas ran atop them, a panther in the high growing foliage. Blake felt the air wash over her as she sprang down to a lower branch, a feeling of release rippling through her brain. That is, until a loud cracking and a large tremor ripped through the tree and split up the branch she was poised on.

Hopping once again down to a lower branch with the aid of Gambol Shroud, Blake watched as a Deathstalker thrashed in place. Located by the side of a clear flowing river, the creature of darkness was seemingly trapped. The large and crab-like Grimm had a claw stuck inside of what looked like a glittering formation of ice. The loud cracking Blake was hearing seemed to be originating from the ice formation that its claw was stuck inside. _If I'm not mistaken, this looks like the work of Weiss. She can't be far off._

The ice would be an effective barrier for a short amount of time, but after a few minutes would most certainly give way to the brute strength of a full grown Deathstalker. The way cracks were working themselves across the formation of crystalized water was showing just how strong the Grimm was. Its amber stinger was flailing around as it attempted to wrench itself free of the ice.

Dodging the flailing amber stinger, Blake leapt forward and ran across its back, using the flat blade of Gambol Shroud to slice between the white armored plates of the Grimm's tough hide. Throwing the other half of her weapon, six shots rang out and weakened the connection between the amber stinger and the tail connected to it, while the blade on the gun sliced through the scraps of flesh connecting the two body parts. The singer's tip embedded itself into a cut on the Grimm's back. The Deathstalker screeched loudly and thrashed about like a fish out of water as its own venom entered into one of its freshly bleeding wounds.

Jumping up off the back of the Grimm, Blake spun through the air as she turned herself so her feet landed on the top of the stinger. The glowing yellow appendage buried itself deeper into the Grimm's back with the sickening sound of tearing flesh. The driving force of it burrowing into the Grimm's hide elicited another screech of agony. Blake may have been slightly sympathetic to its pain had the creature not been alive for the sole purpose of tormenting the human race and driving them back into the shadows and dust from which humanity was born.

Finally the Deathstalker let out one last screech as it's thrashing slowed and it's skin began to flake apart like ash in the breeze. It died, it's claw still trapped in the ice. Blake caught her breath, her heart pounding as the adrenaline left her system and brought about a barrage of thoughts and questions. _Why was there a Grimm this large so close to the forest's edge? If Weiss encountered this one, will there be more? I hope the team's okay._

Blake was jerked from her thoughts as her well-tuned feline ears twitched under her bow. Tightening her pale fingers around Gambol Shroud, Blake's muscles tightened and her aura prickled as she heard a twig snap about twenty meters to her left. There was something there, and from the way it was walking it didn't want to be heard. Anticipating an ambush, she drew her weapon up to the ready and pulled the magazine out of the clip. After the Nevermores and the Deathstalker she wasn't surprised to find it empty. Her ears twitched involuntarily again as the sound of shallow breathing sounded from about ten meters away.

Blake swore under her breath and reached for her extra magazine. Her heart sank at the sight of the empty compartment for the bullets. Gritting her teeth, Blake shoved the clip back into her pocket and brought Gambol Shroud back up to the ready. She could fight without ammo, but the situation was nowhere close to ideal.

The Faunas was about to be ambushed by an unknown attacker and she was out of bullets.


End file.
